Aggrieved ex-staff of Jumia Nigeria, Rocket Internet’s e-commerce venture have cried out against alleged unrestrained reign of terror by the management of the company on Nigerian staff.
The allegation is a chilling reminder of the resonating accusation of wrongdoing and maltreatment of Nigerians by foreign companies while Nigerian government sits idly.
Jumia Nigeria Hit by Allegations of Labour Abuses
In an email to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, Uche Ajene who was Jumia Nigeria, head of Marketing until October 30 claimed that the company now allegedly sold to a German firm (Rocket Internet) is hiring and firing Nigerians at will.
When contacted, Afam Anyika, Jumia’s public relations manager, said he was not authorized to speak on the issue but promised to get the managing director to comment.
The managing director did not as at the time of this report.
But Ajene said that “in 2012, 50 members of staff were fired, then more were hired, then more fired again, the total number of staff fired in this period was over 100”
“Jumia is not a Nigerian company, and for all I care they don’t care about Nigerians! Don’t be deceived by the Cameroonian and Nigerian figurehead “Harvard CEOs”, they have puppet masters pulling their strings. Jumia Nigeria has been sold! Their balance sheets are worse than you can imagine! And in a few months to years they will become subsidiaries of a bigger company and the CEOS are just waiting to cash out on their cheque, and present staff are just pawns to be used till the time comes”
According to her, Jumia Nigeria’s strategy was to lure staff from their companies with big salary promises, and after a very short time, leave them with the lower end of the straw
“They never leave you even after they “fire” you, but continue to follow you to your new place of work trying to ensure you never get another chance at working. The company leaves out its investor’s code – hire, fire, move and dispose with rocket speed. They sack staff and hire like the wind” she added
Ajene claimed she worked in with over 60 different faces in the period she was with Jumia adding that “working for Jumia was like hell; we would resume at 8am and leave at 9pm for normal staff and much latter for management staff, understandable for a startup but not when the bait is threats of firing and legal actions”
“And if you are wondering, I was sacked and plan to take legal action soon for continued harassment and for wrongful termination. Why was I sacked? Was it for going home early at 9pm or not sacking my entire team? Well I hope a court of law will get it out of them”
Ajene was allegedly laid off following her inability to meet sales targets which she allegedly set for the e-commerce operation.
Ajene joined Jumia in August 2012 from MIH Internet Africa where she worked as Marketing Manager for the company’s Nigeria operations, Kalahari and Dealfish between July 2010 and July 2012.
Prior to this, Ajene has worked as a Marketing Specialist for Interra Networks Inc. in the U.S and describes herself as a proactive manager and tactical planner with extensive experience conceptualizing and executing marketing communication campaigns for end users, media and other consumers.